2 policemen tried on sexual assault charges

The Cairo Criminal Court tried two policemen accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl last December on Monday.(AFP PHOTO/MAHMOUD KHALED)

The Cairo Criminal Court tried two policemen accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl last December on Monday.

The prosecution assigned other charges to the defendants, including committing an indecent act in public and arrest without permit or judicial authorisation.

According to the girl’s narrative, the two policemen stopped a car in which the girl was riding with a male friend, and demanded to check their identity cards. They then forced the girl to get out of the car and into their vehicle, where they took her to an isolated area before sexually assaulted her.

She recounted the incident on private satellite channel Dream TV, noting that one of the policemen tried to engage in a sexual act without her consent and the other was covering up for him.

The girl was able to hide her phone and text her male friend who filed a claim about the incident.

The Forensic Authority report supported the girl’s narrative, as it showed traces of seminal fluid on the girl’s clothes. However, it stated there were no signs of violence found on the girl’s body, reducing the charge to sexual assault rather than rape.

The policemen were initially arrested and released on bail EGP 1,000 each, however Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat referred the two policemen to the criminal court.

Sexual assault is a crime punishable with a jail sentence of between seven and 15 years, Mohamed Ibrahim, a member of the National Council for Women (NCW), told Daily News Egypt.